Fri 27 Jun
Time to read: 3mins
Defensive duo pen contracts with Derby County.
Derby County have signed defender Zak Whitbread on a free transfer while Lee Naylor has signed a new deal with the Club.
30-year-old centre-back Whitbread has penned a one-year deal, with the option of a further year, after spending the majority of last season at the iPro Stadium on loan from Leicester City.
He made four appearances in total and acted as cover for in-form duo Richard Keogh and Jake Buxton at the heart of the defence, and also scored a towering header on his debut in Derby’s 4-4 draw with Ipswich Town in September 2013.
Naylor, 34, has signed a one-year deal after spending the last three months of last season with the Rams on a short-term contract.
He made four substitute appearances in total as back-up for left-back Craig Forsyth.
As well as providing experience to Derby’s young squad, both players were popular figures in the dressing room.
Head Coach Steve McClaren said: “We’re pleased to have Zak Whitbread and Lee Naylor signed up for the upcoming season.
“Although they weren’t regular players in the starting line-up last season, they provided cover in key positions and pushed the players that were in the side all the way.
“They will strengthen the competition for places in their respective areas of the side and that’s important to have, right the way across the squad.”
Although he was born in Texas and was capped at Under 20 level by the USA, Whitbread came through the ranks at Liverpool and after making seven appearances for the Reds, he moved to Millwall in 2005, initially on loan, before sealing a permanent move to The Den.
He was a regular in the Millwall side before he joined Norwich City in January 2010 to help seal them promotion from League 1, and he was key member of the squad as they sealed promotion to the Premier League during the 2010/11 season.
He later went on to join Leicester City in the summer of 2012 on a free transfer and he made 19 appearances for the Foxes in total, before joining Derby on loan in September of last year prior to being released at the end of the campaign.
Naylor has a total of 531 appearances to his name in professional football and began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He came through the ranks at Molineux and went on to make over 300 appearances for the West Midlands outfit as well as gaining England Under 21 international honours, and was part of Wolves’ promotion-winning team to the Premier League in 2002/03.
Naylor joined Scottish Premier League giants Celtic in the summer of 2006 for £600,000 and was a league title-winner in both the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons - as well as lifting the Scottish Cup in 2007 and gaining Champions League experience.
In total he spent four seasons in Scotland before returning to the Football League with Cardiff City for two seasons between 2010-2012, while he spent a short time at League 2 Accrington Stanley last season prior to linking up with Derby.
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